The search for common trends: A substantive law approach in the light of prevention, preparedness/response and liability

The search for convergence between the U.S. and the EU on maritime safety laws and regulations implies in actual fact the examination of three rather than two parameters, the third one being the IMO; this is the case since depending on the degree and pace of the involvement of the IMO in the shaping of the regulatory frame of safety at sea, the IMO contributes to the balance or imbalance of the “dialogue” between the two maritime powers under examination.

However, this position should not hinder possible autonomy of the federal or regional legislator’s aspirations in this field, i.e. a federal or regional maritime safety policy which would exist in any event, based on a federal or regional perception of interests. For example in the case of the EU, a common maritime safety policy would in actual fact be founded on the need for enhanced integration between Member States in all sectors of the economy including maritime transport and maritime safety and whose ensuing consequence would be the shift of the competence on maritime safety from the synergy between the national and the international level (Member States-IMO) to the EC level. Despite this, it is noticeable that when the legislator in the EU or the U.S. makes a statement on its policy choices, the failure of the international system to be at the expected level of action and efficiency is invoked.